Rogers, Daniel (c.1538–1591), diplomat and author, was born in Wittenberg, the eldest son of eleven children of John Rogers (c.1500–1555), biblical editor and martyr, and his wife, Adriana van der Weyden of Antwerp. His younger brother, John Rogers, was also born in Wittenberg, where their father served as a minister for a protestant congregation. In 1548 the Rogers family moved to England and settled in London. John Foxe claims that after John Rogers the elder, was burnt at the stake on 4 February 1555 by Mary I's government, Daniel Rogers and his mother found the protestant martyr's writings and letters in his prison cell. Two of Rogers's kinsmen on his mother's side were Abraham Ortelius, perhaps the greatest geographer of his time, and Emmanuel van Meteren (Demetrius), the leader of the Dutch merchants in London and a historian of some note. These family connections gave Rogers an entrée into distinguished academic circles in England and on the continent throughout his life, and his career reveals that he took full advantage of this opportunity. He returned to Wittenberg in 1557 to study under his father's old friend, Philip Melanchthon; he also studied with Hubert Languet and Johann Sturm, two men who became associated with Sir Philip Sidney. It is clear from Sidney's correspondence with Languet that the former held Rogers in high esteem. In 1587 Rogers married Susan (d. in or after 1591), daughter of Elizabeth's French secretary, Nicasius Yetsweirt, a friend of his father who originally introduced him to the court. In May 1587 Rogers succeeded his old friend Robert Beale as clerk of the privy council, a position he held until his death, and he also served as MP for Newport, Cornwall (1588–9). It is likely that Burghley, who admired his scholarship, arranged both these advancements.